Lacto/dairy free - has anyone tried and how have you got on?

Anoneemoose

Hi all,

I am asking this as I constantly get post nasal drip - not so much a runny nose but more of a constant needing to clear my throlat coupled with nausea when it's bad.

I have a few ailments including fibro, ibs and PCOS. My doc once mentioned my ibs could be lactose intolerance but she can be a bit useless sometimes so didn't really pursue it. Also, someone in my Fibro group mentioned this could be the cause of the mucous. (Sorry if yuk)!

Anyway, I am considering cutting out lactose for a few weeks to see if my symptoms improve but am unsure whether to start just cutting out lactose or remove dairy completely.

Has anyone tried and can you offer any tips for survival/alternatives please?

Thanks in advance!

fizzytrinket

I love lactose free milk. If it wasn't so dear I'd use it all the time.

jenniewb

I stopped eating dairy a few years ago after a suggestion from a gastroenterologist. I'd been having problems with both my digestion and a very distended stomach for years but it had just reached a level where I couldn't take it anymore and I was referred by my GP to check if anything was wrong with my stomach.


I was told my stomach was fine following an investigation operation and was suggested to try taking things out of my diet to see if they made any difference.


I had always been so dubious over people with intolerances. Don't get me wrong, I definitely believed people could be allergic to things, but intolerances I was doubtful about so wanted to try this elimination thing to prove the doctor wrong.


I took out all dairy (you really need to know the various names for dairy and keep an eye on all the ingredients of anything you eat, however unlikely it could seem, they could have dairy derivatives in there somewhere.)


Within a month my stomach had gone down and I'd lost half a stone within the first 2 weeks- I wasn't even overweight! I was a bit taken-a-back after this and stopped eating dairy since. All my sinus issues and constant froggy-throat went away, my eyes stopped being blurry every time I closed my eyes "for just 5 minutes" and I just felt better about myself though I put most of this down to then actually having a waist and no longer being asked if I needed a seat "in your condition".


I did find the lactose free milk didn't work for me, my symptoms returned and I later found that this was because its not a milk for people who have issues digesting milk. If your symptoms are all sinus based for example your probably OK to have the milk but if you have digestion issues like I did you may find this milk makes them worse as the proteins which affect your digestion are not removed.




Alpro, rice milk, almond milk, hazelnut milk, coconut milk...there are many other types out there, just make sure if you go for soya milk you either go for a "coffee safe" milk or the blue alpro cartons as that way the milk wont curdle with your coffee

Hermia

I was diagnosed lactose intolerant when I was teenager. The lactose-free diet hasn't helped my asthma/eczema at all, but it's nice not to be windy and running to the loo all the time!

The problem you have is whether you have a lactose or dairy issue (or neither of course). People who are lactose intolerant can often have a small amount of mature cheese and yogurt because these are lower in lactose. I have yogurt so I know I'm getting some calcium. Obviously if your issue is with dairy rather than just lactose you'd have to be stricter. Also be aware that many foods have lactose in them (e.g. many sweets and tablets do).

Anoneemoose

I have been meaning to reply but have been at work!

Thank you both for your replies.

Jenniewb - that sounds very much like me - my stomach is horrendous. I am quite large anyway so tend to wear forgiving clothes but I fear the day someone asks when I am due! My stomach gets rock hard as well. I have had pelvic scans due to irregular bleeding and it is nothing there.

I do carry quite a bit of weight around my tummy but this just takes the biscuit! Sometimes it gets so big, i can hardly bend down to put my socks on.

I suffer terribly from wind and diarrhoea - and sometimes constipation but that's not often.

I have to admit my diet isn't great but that's because i avoid all of the foods that give me painful wind like pulses, fruit and veg. This means I'm not left with much else as am not a great meat lover so it tends to be toast and butter or jackets with butter and cheese!

Outer_Limits

Post nasal drip is horrible isn't it? Often goes with allergic rhinitis just to keep it fueled

When I had norovirus for a few weeks (so a diet of dry toast) it all improved tremendously! Seemed to be the lack of dairy that helped but I couldn't hack black/fruit tea all the time so now I have goats' milk which helps a lot.

Have you looked into using a salt pipe or Neilmed nasal wash?

On the diet front it would be good to chase your GP... IBS requires a strange diet I know, but if it's not that you may actually be on the worst diet for it!

Linda32

Hi,


I followed a lactose free diet for IBS and it did help a lot. I was tested for LI by a sympathetic GP.


I don't need to follow it now. I use Kalms and Rescue Remedy to stop IBS which oddly helps after trying a lot of things.


I was fine with good cheese as said above. I found the Vegan Forum very useful for commercial snacks etc as obviously vegans have nothing to do with milk.


Now I can't have yoghurt, lettuce/leaves or a big bowl of milk and cereal. I had rice milk on cereal but you do have to check that there isn't milk in the cereal. I used and still do use mayonnaise instead of butter/spread on bread.


HTH it really is a rotten condition to have to live with.

poet123

I suffer from this too, and I find it worsens when I eat any dairy, but I do drink tea with milk and wonder which alternatives would work with tea?

Anoneemoose

Thanks again folks! I am going to get planning so I can go for a cew weeks without. Need to ensure I have plenty of alternatives available.

Think after a few weeks I will go on to the lacto free stuff to see if that makes a difference.

jenniewb

Anoneemoose wrote: »

Thanks again folks! I am going to get planning so I can go for a cew weeks without. Need to ensure I have plenty of alternatives available.

Think after a few weeks I will go on to the lacto free stuff to see if that makes a difference.

Good luck!


It took me a long time to find alternatives because I used to (still!) love dairy, I used to eat it a lot, every meal and some meals were only dairy. I cut it out and missed it, everything else pailed in comparison, either being too watery, too sickly or just plain weird!


I now seem to like Alpro- but only the green carton or the blue carton, the other types don't taste so good IMO, but each person will have their own preference.


I went through a phase where I could drink the Kallo milk, coconut milk or almond milk but only in small amounts or with something such as porridge. I would use your few weeks or trialling a non dairy diet to test out all the dairy free milks, there are many and normally are found with the UHT milks and in larger supermarkets there are quite a few varieties. Just make sure the milk reads "coffee safe" if your going to use it with hot drinks like coffee or tea or it curdles. If your struggling to find ones which are, I know that the blue alpro and the kallo cartons are coffee safe, otherwise heat up the milk first before mixing it with the hot drink and its normally OK.

Katiehound

I realised I was dairy intolerant last summer. I was just so stiff I could hardly move so osteopath suggested cutting out all dairy (I had already axed cheese, sadly) Within 4 days the stiffness had gone!
I now buy Alpro plain yoghurt or Tesco "free from" yoghurt and sometimes buy the soya "cheese". Alpro make very nice soya long life puddings- . These are currently on offer at Mr T- 2 packs for £2.50 saving 50pence. Also I saw yesterday that Alpro soya & almond milk is on offer in there- £1 instead of ? £1.25? per carton. Alpro fruit yoghurts are widely available (more so than the large plain pots)

I tried using Flora instead of butter but really didn't like the taste- I generally don't have bread so not a real problem

Some years ago I had dreadful sinus problems and tried cutting out all cow milk products. It didn't really work however I think acupuncture did the trick.